Hard-riding HMSI increases market share in 19 Indian states

An aggressive Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) is now the No. 1 selling two-wheeler brand across eight States and 1 Union Territory across India. This is as per latest sales figures provided by industry body, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) for the first quarter of FY2015-16. 

HMSI says it has added three new States – Gujarat, Punjab and Delhi – to its No. 1 tally along with Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, Punjab, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Goa) and 1 Union Territory (Chandigarh).

Overall, the company’s all-India market share grew 2 percentage points to 26 percent in the first quarter of FY2015-16. Within the States, Honda’s market share grew to over 50 percent in 2 states + 1 Union Territory (Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Goa), crossed the 40 percent mark in Maharashtra and Gujarat and was well above the 30 percent mark in an additional 7 States (Delhi, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana).

The company adds that its sales grew progressively in a total of 28 States including many motorcycle dominated states like  Uttar Pradesh (14%), Haryana(7%), Assam (13%), West Bengal (19%), Madhya Pradesh (3%), Punjab (8%), Rajasthan (12%), Bihar (7%), Jharkhand(14%), Chhattisgarh (16%) and Tamil Nadu (8%).

Meanwhile, Honda has strengthened its leadership in the automatic scooter segment and is leading the scooterisation of Indian two-wheeler industry across all 29 States and UTs. In fact, its market share in automatic sscooter is as high as over 80 percent in Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and over 70 percent in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand.

Commenting on Honda’s performance, Keita Muramatsu, president & CEO, HMSI, said, “In the first quarter of FY’2015-16, Honda grew five times faster than the industry. Our strategy to launch many new models in both the scooter and motorcycle segments, network expansion in smaller towns, increased flexibility in production mix to meet demand and top-of-mind brand recall has been well accepted in the market.”

Yadvinder Singh Guleria, senior vice-president, added: “Honda’s success story is a result of the continued trust reposed by customers on the Honda brand. In fact, the overwhelming demand for the Activa has led the brand to cross one million sales in just five months of FY15-16. Our newly launched motorcycles Livo and CBR 650F are receiving a tremendous response. Now with the onset of festive season, we are confident of driving the next growth curve for Honda in India.”